No Sidebar: A New Approach to Life

I used to think that minimalism was limited to an overabundance of tangible goods and removing unnecessary things from our lives. There was a part of me that thought getting rid of everything you don’t need or use inside your home was the definition of being a minimalist.

But then I started to challenge that line of thinking, and came to the conclusion that while it’s partly that, it’s also more than that.

What I found myself saying “Yes, THIS!” to were decisions made by others, but to me they resonated on an intellectual level. In other words, I found myself agreeing to the “why” behind the choices, and not so much the “how.”

Around this same period of my life, I was doing a lot of web design, which meant I was spending (and still am) a tremendous amount of time online. I started to notice websites that were filled with clutter, which looked a number of different ways.

Some websites had too many distractions and some offered too many options for places to go. Click here, follow me, share this. Stuff like that.

What I really wanted to do is read their content. I was more interested in the words on the page and what they were saying, but I was constantly bombarded with things that took me off course.

As I continued my way through this journey, I began to make choices to eliminate some of these symptoms on my own website. I removed a few things that I thought took people away from the primary goal.

And this included no sidebars.

When I was finished doing that on my own website, I slowly incorporated these types of choices into the themes I designed for my company. I felt as though I could make a difference on the web, and this was my way of suggesting that others follow suit.

If you have a blog or website, I highly encourage you to take a long hard look at what’s on your page. Is it there because it should be there? Or is it there because you’re told it should be, or simple want to fill up space? Do you really need that widget in your sidebar? Is it really an effective use of your online real estate?

There’s a chance that over time, you’ll continually pack on the pounds of excess “stuff” on your website, much the same way we gain weight during the holidays. But these items often stand in the way of accomplishing your goals. Taking the time for spring-cleaning is definitely well worth it.

I think it’s time we look inward and identify what’s really important online and deliberately invest our time there. Maybe it’s a community, or a blog that really tugs at your heart. Perhaps your efforts are better spent in one place, rather than many places.

Social media is another example of feasting. I try my best to limit my primary activity to just Facebook and Twitter, because that is where my audience resides and where I see the most benefit. Anything outside of that is potentially time wasted, which results in a lack of productivity.

The less time I spend on social media, the more time I have with my family or doing other things that I enjoy. This allows me the opportunity to pursue things I’m passionate about, and relationships that can make a difference.

I love how The Minimalists define minimalism:

Minimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom. Freedom from fear. Freedom from worry. Freedom from overwhelm. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from depression. Freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we’ve built our lives around. Real freedom.

I’m a firm believer that far too often we overproduce and overindulge — and this includes the life we lead online. I think our productivity is stifled by the “too many-ness” we encounter on the web, which results deep down in a lack of satisfaction.

In my opinion, minimalism isn’t just limited to the consumption of goods and thoughts.

Minimalism is a mentality of being intentional with our everyday actions, and removing the noise that gets in the way. (tweet that)

For some that means getting rid of personal belongings, for others it’s the removal of a sidebar on their website. Either way, we are all on a similar journey — one of intentionality and a search for happiness.

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No Sidebar is a weekly email newsletter from Brian Gardner that helps people identify the things that stand in the way of building their business.

About Joshua Becker

Writer. Inspiring others to live more by owning less.WSJ Bestselling author of The More of Less.

Comments

i hate clicking onto a page with loads of designs and adverts on them, too crowded.
inevitably you end up clicking onto one, and this drives me mad, they are very distracting and annoying and in the end i move on to something simpler and calmer, i think our brains have enough to deal with as it is, keep it simple, seeing a nice cup of coffee on the top of your pages is enough, i wish i could reach right into the screen and drink them with cake of course and read your good advice, bless you love Jacqueline

I feel the same about websites. I personally cannot stand things that move around on the page while I’m reading. (Sometimes, I hold one hand over the moving part, for focus!
I have not used social media because I’d rather not. Simply. A waste of time.

Thank you for this post. I have never really thought of minimalism in the context of my blog. I don’t have much on my sidebar, but I started thinking about how I could reduce the number of words I could use on the posts that I write. Reminds me of that popular quote from Mark Twain, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”
Have a great day!

This post comes at the strangest time for me. After seven years of blogging (for free), I finally placed ads on my sidebar last week. I switched some things around, trying to limit the distraction that the ads brought. I revamped my navbar, trying to make it easier to find posts I’d like to highlight.

But my blog is about balance…and for me, balance is strongly connected to simplicity.

Sigh…now I’m not sure if the $10/week (chaCHING!) is worth the clutter on the sidebar.

Personally I’ve become a real-world “no sidebar” guy when it comes to my websites, but I do realize that it’s not completely ideal for everyone. I understand that some business models rely on advertising and what not, so in context there’s a time and place for them. The “no sidebar” project I came up with is more of a metaphorical thing.

I do think there are strategic ways to display content and other things on a website without a sidebar. For instance, when I redesigned Joshua’s site here at Becoming Minimalist, we removed the sidebar which housed the books he sold — and at first we were fearful that it would negatively impact sales. Ask Joshua how that’s gone since the change. ;-)

Thanks for your reply. Yeah, I caught the metaphor, but also realize that practical application is necessary. I’ve always loved visiting sites that have a super simple design and feel this approach better supports the theme of my blog.

But then, I’d like to generate some income. I know there are ways to accomplish this tastefully and simply.

I think I need to play around with it and see what best suits my audience and my purpose.

I’ve been running distraction-free content on my own blog for almost two years now, and at the time of changing my theme and mentality, had ads and promos is my sidebar.

What I’ve found since removing the sidebar, and placing my main CTA at the end of each post, is that clickthrough has increased. Now, this could be down to various reasons, but my guess (unsubstantiated) is that the reader has enjoyed the content enough to trust my CTA request (be it signing up for my newsletter, or buying my book).

It’s a big mindset change, for sure, but if you track your analytics (and use something like Crazy Egg, or InPage Analytics from Google’s own analytics package), you can get a pretty good idea of optimal area to place your CTA.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I’m new to the whole concept of ads on my sidebar. THAT was a mindset change for me. So far, I’m not impressed with the payout from AdSense (of course, it’s more than I had last week, right?). I’m positive there are better ways to generate income. I’d prefer my CTA to be more content-relevant, rather than plopping a random ad there (which I assume that’s what you do).

Eventually, I would prefer to have e-books/published books there. Or sell ad space to individuals.

I loved this post! And ‘lack of goop’ is what I love about Joshua’s pages. Google Blocker isn’t the answer either. I am highly visual and look at the font, the paragraphing, as much as the content. I have a friend whose adult child has been traveling all over the world with her new husband for over a year. Their website is one stunning photo and one paragraph of each place. And that is what I want in my life: Just enough, and not too much.

I feel in order for true change to manifest; we have to give ourselves space, to breathe, to be present , to contemplate our own life, and thru self-introspection, we learn to manifest the Life we want and desire to live. Freely, without any attachment, guilt, fear, or rejection.

Becoming Minimalist, has given me the insight to a higher quality of living.

I agree that minimalism is a good thing, but I’m not convinced by this new fad of having no sidebars. I find basic information like a search box, information about the author etc. can be very useful, and the sidebar makes sense as a place to put that IMO.

As I mentioned in a previous comment, I do realize that a literal interpretation of “no sidebars” might be a stretch for some. If anything, consider my project a challenge at the very least to identify the unnecessary. Even if that means removing a few items in a sidebar that really don’t have a place, I’m ok with that.

I love the look of a simple uncluttered website. I am more apt to stay longer and look around …or just stay period.

What bothers me lately is how so many sites seem to have gone the route of a big popup screen wanting you to sign up to their mailing list and/or twitter/facebook page. Or a floating sidebar navigation strip or bottom popup strip.

I have a slower computer connection so I have to wait for most of these to load before I can even see the content I came to look at. I usually opt to leave and not come back or unsubscribe to their RSS feed.

I am completely in love with this post Brian! I’ve had a travel website for a few years but even though the design felt great at the time, when I launched my new website for personal development and mental health, which I kept clean and minimal, I realised how ‘loud’ and ‘noisy’ my travel site felt in comparison so I gutted it all, started from scratch and now I’m in love with it all over again.

I look at my two websites now and see nothing but clear spaces with pops of colour and though I have a sidebar on my travel site, it’s ‘minimal’ in of itself that it fits in comfortably!

Really like your point about assessing our needs with social media etc which is very necessary in this current, fast-paced, society. I have just three – Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and though occasionally I use others, those are my core because they’re all I want to give my time to.

I very much like the idea of minimalism as a concept that can pervade all aspects of life. And the internet is certainly rife with clutter! I too appreciate sites with minimal ads and sidebar-age, which I’ve tried to espouse on my site too, though not quite as successfully as you.

Having the awareness that it’s ok to have less–stuff or sidebars–is something that’s very comforting and helpful to me as I continue to simplify and frugalize my life.

News of massive leaks of sensitive personal information is becoming all too common. It was only months ago when Target announced that upwards of 70-110 million people who swiped their cards at the giant retailer had their information stolen, information containing names, phone numbers and credit card numbers.

This is exactly what I needed to read to give my blog a good clean-up. I think it turned out pretty well, but I suppose I’m a little biased. :P

Thanks so much for this article. After about six years of “Yes, THIS” moments, 2015 is going to be my year for embracing minimalism in all areas of my life, and not just inside my head. My blog was only the beginning!! :D x